Ferreting Out the Truth
by Lydja-chan
Summary: Everyone has secrets. Some are kept to protect the people we care for and others are kept to protect ourselves. The cruelest secrets are hidden within our own hearts. A tale of self-discovery as a changed woman struggles to find her place in this world of mutants and beyond.
1. Chapter 1

Everyone has secrets. Some are kept to protect the people we care for and others are kept to protect ourselves. The cruelest secrets are hidden within our own hearts. A tale of self-discovery as a changed woman struggles to find her place in this world of mutants and beyond.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT in any form or incarnation. But this story exists in the 2012 Nick world so you know. Enjoy… hopefully

* * *

I couldn't see but I could hear.

"AHHHHHHHHH! HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"

I think that I am standing, stumbling forward vainly in an attempt to reach that voice, trying to remain vertical until I feel something in my spine stretch and I collapse to the ground. I can no longer feel my legs.

"No! HELP!" I hear the voice coming towards me till muted thumps fill the space in front of me.

"Crap"

"Stop. Don't get any closer or the mutagen will get on you too."

"Uh oh"

"Mikey, keep the girl back, be ready for anything guys."

Four, there were four voices now in between me and the first one, I know that it is important to reach it but I feel so confused. I try to wipe the burning substance from my eyes in an attempt to restore my vision to asses the situation, but it is of no use, I can't make my body follow the simplest of commands. Every sinew is on fire. The sound of a scream fills my ears before it too is ripped away from me. Now all I had was a cocoon of pain.

Pain as senses were taken away only to be restored with such intensity that my mind was overwhelmed with them. My skin was a mass of pins and needles, I could feel the muscles underneath twitching as nerve endings misfired, trying to cope with the sensory overload. Some connection in my back is restored and I could once again feel my lower extremities, though there seemed to be more appendages there than before. Breathing is an exercise that I would rather put off but know I can't, my ribcage is sore and tender and feels like every exhale pinches my stomach. I don't know how long I exist in this state of floating torment but eventually I feel as if I may be gaining some control. My brain was beginning to reestablish what synapsis controlled what body parts and I gather my arms underneath me to push up, not trying to stand but only wishing to put some space between myself and the pavement. I shake my head and everything just feels wrong. There is too much weight in the front and I feel unbalanced, then there is no more time for an internal inventory because the outside world comes crashing back in.

"… can't predict what's going to happen with any mutation. They diversify based on the DNA introduced to the host organism. One would think that a mammalian cross-strain would be the most compatible towards continued intelligence but …"

"Donnie, can we reason with it or not?"

"Not an "it", have some heart, dude. That's her mom."

Mom, the word does something to me and the fog over my mind is starting to lift. Underneath the dialogue is the constant sound of sobbing and the occasional hitched breath. I know that sound, it awakens an instinct in me so deep that the awareness of pain is burned away by its' mere presence. Opening my eyes I see a girl is the source of the wailing, but I don't just see her as she is now. My mind flashes with images from our shared past, a baby cradled to my breast, so very tiny and helpless, a toddler covered in spaghetti and beaming up at me, a small child proudly reading me a book all on her own, an older child with the sun glinting off her hair as joyous laughter fills the air. Finally a youth with those same wracking sobs as I hold her, trying to soothe her trembling frame even as my as my own heart is filled with a longing aching sorrow for something we have both lost.

I know my place now and it is with this girl, she is of my flesh, I'm her Mother. I don't understand why it took me so long to remember this but now that I do, I know that I can face whatever comes next, I have an anchor point of sanity again. I also know that I have to reach her, if she's crying then she will want me. I can't let her cry like that, not again. Testing my newfound control I continue to gather my limbs underneath me, it's a shaky first attempt but I can feel hope filling me as muscles respond to my will.

"Well, looks like ma' over here is wakin' up."

The voice draws my attention and I try to make sense of what I see. Between my daughter and I are four green beings. If stop and think for a moment I'm sure that my brain would provide me with an image that they resemble, but I don't care. One glance tells me that they have no connection to me except that they are barring the path to my daughter. The creature nearest her moves to grab my child and as she flinches away from it in fear my blood boils. My focus narrows as I seek to distinguish it from the rest, to identify my target. It has a narrow strip of cloth around it's face and a quick glance tells me that the others do as well, all in different colors. Orange, as I now identify it, is undeterred by my daughter's fear and wraps its green arms around her.

"Shhhh, it'll be ok." The words were whispered low enough that they were meant for the girl's ear alone, nonetheless I heard them clearly. As clearly as I heard my daughter's terrified whimper in response. Snarling, I shift my hips and spring forward, determined to remove my child from this creature she was obviously afraid of. I didn't get very far.

"No ya don't, lady." Somehow I ended up on my back, pinned underneath another one of the creatures, Red. I feel something cold and hard pressed against my neck and I freeze. Though the red one held me down my eyes didn't rest on it for long, they shifted and rolled, my only goal being to locate my daughter. I was frantic, there was too much information to process and she was the only thing that made sense in my scattered brain. Slowly, too slowly, small pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together. I registered the creature holding me down as male, there was no denying the power and masculinity that exuded from him, and by default the others shifted from "it" to "him" in my own mental dialogue. That was all I had time for before my roaming gaze found my daughter, she was struggling weakly to free herself from the one in orange as he firmly embraced her.

"We don't mean you any harm." The one in blue filled my vision, the fact that he cut off the eyeline to my daughter was enough to elicit a snarl as a response to his placating words. I felt the pressure at my throat increase.

"I know that this must be confusing but if you can manage to calm yourself we'll an…" His words were cut off as the squeal of tires filled the alleyway and everything was illuminated by harsh headlights. Though I squinted to protect my vision the backlight caused their forms to silhouette and another piece fell into place. They had large rounded backs and the descriptor I had been searching for finally came to me. Turtles.

My mind stumbled over this for a moment. Walking talking fighting humanoid turtles. Nope, still didn't make any sense. Deciding that figuring out these creatures could wait I turned my attention back to the alley where the sound of doors opening and closing could be heard along with metallic stomping coming their direction.

"Krangg the signal that was followed to this place known as here has those which are known as the turtles in this place.

"Yes Krangg will be taking that which is the result of the thing known as an accident back to Krangg for that which is known as study. The creatures known as the turtles will be leaving this place or become that which is know as dust."

The speech was hard to tease the meaning from but obviously ended in a threat. The one in blue, he seemed to be their leader was quick to respond. "You're not turning anyone into dust." He stood as he addressed the strange speakers who I could not see, brandishing a long sword in their general direction.

"The ones known as Turtles will be disintegrated and Krangg will take that which is the specimen that is new back to Krangg."

"What should Krangg do with the female that is human of the size being known as small?"

"No witnesses would be optimal, Krangg."

The air was suddenly filled with an electric buzz and I could smell the distinct odor of burnt ozone. The weight was gone from my chest and chaos erupted around me. I could now sense that I was no longer the focus of these turtle-creatures attention even as I instinctively dodged the energy bolts that now filled the alley. A scream cut through the cacophony of the battle and I saw my daughter collapse to the ground before she was quickly scooped up by the turtle in orange.

"Donnie!" The tallest one, his mask was purple, ran to his companion's side and put a finger on my daughter's throat. My own heart stopped beating as I recognized the gesture, he was checking for a pulse.

"Let's get her to the lab." The words did nothing to quell the panic that threatened to overwhelm me. I surged forward to reach my daughter, the only thing that bound me to this world, when I felt something wrap around my ankles.

As I began to fall, knowing that I would not reach her, I felt my desperation swell and it burst through the dam of my silence.

"GGGGWWWWYYYYYYYYNNNNNNNN!"

* * *

**A/N: I promise nothing! Lots of this is written in staggered and fragmented segments that needs to be pieced together. While the story itself is in flux where it ends up is firmly rooted. I would love to discuss the idea of a Beta reader or co-author for this story. I have been sitting on this for a while and finally decided to take the plunge. **


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT in any way or form. This story takes place in the Nick 2012 incarnation.

* * *

The girl woke to the sound of her mother screaming her name and immediately wished that she hadn't. Her shoulder hurt so much that tears immediately escaped from her tightly shut eyes as her face scrunched up in pain. "M… mo… m…" She tried to call for her parent but could barely breath through her racking sobs and soon began to hyperventilate.

"Is she ok?" a panicked voice came from close above her head and she startled so bad that her eyes flew open and she forgot to breath altogether. That weird green boy with freckles was looking right at her.

"She's going into shock!" A large cool hand gripped her chin and forced her to look away from blue eyes into brownish-red ones. "Breath. Just take one big breath for me." She tried, he was weird and green too but his voice was soothing. Gwyn felt her chest rise then stall, she tried again, still she couldn't force the air past her throat. She was scared now. "Close your eyes." For some reason she found that she could obey this command and the vision of strange boys gave way to pink flashes across her closed eyelids. "Good girl, now breath in slowly." This time she felt the air make it past her throat and it hurt. She quickly exhaled but found that she could once again inhale and keep the pattern going.

"You're doing great." She recognized freckle-boy's voice again, though this time he spoke in a whisper. "We'll get you outta here and someplace safe. K dudette." She wanted to say something but was still far too scared. Instead she settled on scrunching her eyes tighter and giving a couple quick nods.

"Mikey take her up and over. Head east for three blocks and there should be a manhole cover in the back alley. I'll be right behind you. If you get to the lair before me wrap her in a blanket and see if she will drink some water." Gwyn tried to listen to the instructions herself but found that between breathing and pushing away the pain she had little room for anything else.

"Got it." She hissed as her shoulder shifted against his hard chest with the first upward jump. He paused and yelled down. "Which direction was that again?"

"Behind ANGELO'S!"

"Dude, why didn't you say that in the first place." With that she felt him move again and each movement was a new level of pain. She tried her very best to not cry but she was this was so much more painful than a scraped knee. Daddy had always told her that it was important to stay calm and not move around cause that would just make a wound worse. She wondered if the green boys knew that rule, but then again she'd never been hurt by another person on purpose before only by accident, so maybe they knew what they were doing. Despite her best efforts she felt the trails of moisture trace down the sides of her nose, she started to blink in an attempt to make them stop.

"Might be a good idea to keep those peepers shut. By the way what's your name little dudette?" She was starting to get used to the voice of this green boy. He sounded kinda friendly and was being nice to her, even if his too hard chest was hurting her shoulder. So she decided to trust him and keep her eyes closed. "Gwynevere."

He laughed and she liked it. "That's a mouthful. Looks like we both have totally awesome long names. Mine's Michelangelo but everyone calls me Mikey."

"My mom ca…"

"No wait. I'm great at this. I'll call you… hmmm... 'Nev'!"

She couldn't help but giggle though it hurt her head to do so. "But that doesn't make sense. My nickname is Gwyn."

"That's cool but I bet everyone calls you that." She could almost feel him smiling at her as the jolt of another landing ran through her. "Besides this is one night that you are NEVer gonna forget. So you should have a nickname from an expert to mark the occasion."

She didn't really like the way 'Nev' sounded but it was kinda like a gift. She wouldn't want to hurt his feelings by not accepting it. "OK. But only if it's a secret." A smile was spreading across her lips before her face suddenly crumpled in pain and with a strangled high pitched breath her head lolled back and the world became black.

* * *

Mikey was glad that he had gotten her talking to him. He could tell that she was beyond frightened of them but hoped that she would be able to look past that soon. She needed to since her mom had just joined the 'mutant club'. Her giggle was adorable and made him wonder just how old she was. She sounded really young but her frame was solid if petite and she had a cherubic face that was painted with faint freckles but no make-up.

Ok so maybe 'Nev' wasn't his best work but at least it was unique. Mikey was pleased that she had accepted her 'secret nickname' but wondered who it was suppose to be a secret from. He pulled his attention away from her for a moment to focus on hoping down the fire escape. The last jump was just bit farther than he anticipated and had to tuck and roll to absorb the extra impact. That's when he heard her cry out and when he finished his landing on one knee it was plain to see that Nev had passed out.

"Not good. Not good." He looked up hoping to Donnie making his way to them but his brainy bro was no where to be found. It was too dangerous to go back, best just to continue onto the lair, Master Splinter would be there to help.

"Don't worry Nev you're gonna be ok. Like my bro is awesome with doctory type stuff and so is Sensei and they'll make you all better so no worries." As he kept up his one-sided conversation he made his way towards the manhole cover after making sure the coast was clear. He was momentarily distracted by a tantalizing aroma coming from a little further up the alley. "Mmmm… pizza. I hope you like pizza Nev cause we eat LOTS of it at the lair." He laid the girl on the ground so that he could pry up the heavy cover to the sewers. "I wonder what kind of pizza you like? I bet you're a pineapple kinda girl. Cause you're so sweet." Mikey laughed at his own joke as he finished heaving the lid to the side. "If you think that's good wait till you try jalapenos and jelly beans. That's some tasty eats." Mikey stood and rubbed his belly at the deliciousness, tongue lolling out and eyes closed. Quickly though he became aware that something was wrong. His plastron was sticky and when he examined his hand the wraps were stained a familiar shade of crimson. For a moment all he could do was look on dumbfounded before his gaze gradually shifted for the small prone form nearby.

"Extremely not good." He rolled her to her side and through the hole in her silky top was able to see the burned, bleeding mess that was her shoulder. He didn't think that it had been like that when they had started out but looking down and seeing a chunk of charred skin where it had caught and stuck to the edge of his plastron it was all he could do not to lose his lunch. After a couple deep breaths to compose himself, Mikey tried to think about Donnie would do it this situation. "First gotta find something to stop the bleeding with." He patted himself down as if something would have just magically appeared in the last couple of minutes. His wraps were dirty from a full night of sewer trudging and fighting. Likewise his mask was drenched in sweat and too small to cover the wound. Thinking to his favorite comics he knew that at times like this the hero would always do something dramatic like tear a strip from his cape or take the shirt right off his back. This made Mikey pause, he didn't have a shirt to use but she did and though the thought made him a bit uncomfortable it was the best option available at the moment. "I promise Nev, I'm not creepy or nothin' but I got borrow your top for a little bit." He slid the article of clothing over her head while supporting her body with his. He was insanely relieved to find that she had on a pink tank top underneath and he hadn't comprised her modestly after all, though in a back corner of his brain he was reevaluating her age again.

With deft motions he formed the middle of the shirt into a compress then used the long sleeves to wrap around her chest and neck to hold it all in place. It was a poor imitation of what his brothers could have done but it would hold up until they reached the lair. He scooped her up again into his arms, making sure that her bad shoulder was facing away from him. Just as he was about to jump down a misplaced foot happened to slip in the small pool of blood that Gwyn had left on the pavement. It would have been a comedic sight if not for the current circumstances as the turtle flailed around attempting to regain his balance without dropping his precious cargo, succeed he did though and huffed a relieved sigh.

With no further incidents he and Gwyn made it into the sewers and he ran as fast as he safely could, keenly aware that this was no time to play around. The sewers were quiet, filled with only the splash of his feet and their labored breaths, his with exertion and hers with unconscious pain. After what seemed to be an eternity a bright happy ringtone broke the silence and echoed off the sewer walls. Mikey stopped and took a knee to support the girl's body on his thigh so he could free an arm to answer the T-phone.

"Where are you Mikey!?" Leo's concerned demand blasted from the speakers.

"Dude where are you guys! Donnie was suppose to be right behind me! What gives?"

"Change of plans, we ended up taking the express home. How far from the lair are you? We're already here."

"I would say about 10 minutes away, just made the tracks. Hey Leo."

"Yeah Mikey, everything ok?"

"Tell Donnie… tell Donnie to be ready. The girl…" The younger turtle gulped with guilt but knew he had to relay the bad news. "... she's bleeding and hasn't woken up yet. I'm sorry I didn't mean for it to happen. I swear I didn't even know it was that bad and I didn't have anything else to use and I promise IdidmybestandthenIslippedintheblood…"

"She's bleeding and unconscious? Ok Mikey calm down, I know it wasn't your fault just get here as fast as you can." Leo even voice helped him settle down a little bit, until he heard the sounds of a scuffle in the background. "No wait! Raph! Stop Her!" Leo's voice sounded distant before blaring in his ear slit. "Get back here now but be careful. You have got one angry mutant mom headed your way."

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**A/N: Big thanks to kamiccolo's rose for taking the time to read and comment on chapter 1. I expect these first few chapters to be a bit of a bumpy road before I can get into the real meat of the story. I appreciate anyone willing to give this story a chance and travel down this path with me. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. This story takes place in the 2012 nickverse**

* * *

_It wasn't bad enough that another canister hunt had gone wrong or that they had been too late to stop another human from being mutated but did the poor woman HAVE to have a daughter as well! It was like the universe is intent on making a highlight reel of our failures, oh and look here comes a Kraang firefight, perfect._ Though Leo was calm on the outside and doing his best to assess the situation for a positive outcome he was weary from the night's failures and feeling just a bit sarcastic. As Raph barreled past him, to engage the metal clad aliens as they let loose their first volley, he caught a glimpse of his bruiser brother's wickedly gleefully smirk. _It doesn't help that he's enjoying this so darn much._

Leonardo lept into battle with a cry and took down the Kraang closest to him with his first downward strike, neatly slicing it open from shoulder to hip but leaving the gooey center intact to scramble away with a squeal. He had just kicked away another Kraang to give himself more room for his next attack when he heard a girlish scream to his left. His gut clenched with fear, that frequency only ever came from Mikey, he was slightly relieved to see his brother's shell heading towards a nearby dumpster to take cover behind it, Mikey seemed to be moving fine but that was no guarantee that he was uninjured. As Leo heard his youngest brother call for Donnie he also registered a pressure wave over his right shoulder and brought his blades up just in time to prevent the serrated bayonet from connecting with his skull. He would just have to trust the two youngest to look after each other as he rededicated himself to the battle. Their only real option was take down the Kraang in this alley as quickly as possible and get away before backup arrived.

He disassembled the gun above him with a scissoring motion before dropping down and sweeping the robot's legs out from underneath it. As the metal shell hit the ground in front of him, from behind the sound of a name screamed with anguish filled the air. Leo made sure to stab his current foe in the head, waiting to see pink eyes go dark before scanning the battlefield to see who had cried out.

The newly mutated woman was on the ground calling out, her arm reaching towards where Mikey and Donnie were hidden from his view. He noted that there were two Kraang hovering over the woman, one with a cable coming from it's personal saucer wrapped around the woman's ankles. Behind him the sound of a vehicular door opening alerted him that another robot was making it's move, only shifting his torso Leo threw his katana at the human clad alien settling into the van's drivers seat, the windshield shattered and sparks flew around the blade now lodged in it's chest, the false man looked down at the weapon with detachment before it's head fell forward while the rest of the body remained pinned upright .

Leonardo checked his immediate area, he had dispatched three Kraang and saw the remains of another two lying in the path that Raphael had taken. He could no longer hear the discharge of energy bolts and from the sounds of satisfied grunts accompanied by the screech of metal against metal coming from the backside of the van opposite him, his red-banned brother was enjoying mopping up the remaining Kraang-bots. Taking a breather Leo looked up and just caught Mikey making the last leap to the top of eastward building, he had something in his arms and the glimpse of bright neon pink sneakers before his brother disappeared made him realise that the girl had be the cause of distress, not Mikey himself.

Leo felt the guilt fall on his shoulders like a lead cape. He was so used to his brothers being able to fend for themselves that he had not taken into account the two innocents involved in the skirmish. Often Donnie took it upon himself to make sure that non-combatants stayed clear and safe, but Leo had given the responsibility of watching the girl to Mikey, granted at the time he thought that they would only be dealing with a single mutant and not a van-load of gun wielding Kraang. It made no difference, Leo had made the call and he could only hope that the child wouldn't suffer too much because of it. A shadow passed by his feet bringing him out of his guilt-ridden thoughts.

The two pink Kraang outfitted only in hover pods were passing above him, the limp form of the furry woman slung between them by metallic cables. Donnie passed him in hot pursuit, hopping on the hood of the van, then to the roof before launching himself, naginata blade out, to slice through the cable, sending the pink brain into the wall of the adjacent building with the blunted backswing. Leonardo was bare seconds behind his brother hoping on top of his target to reduce it's altitude before severing the restraining metal cord with his remaining katana. The unwilling passenger dropped with a thud to the pavement but a soft groan told Leo that at least she was alive and well enough for the moment. Donnie was instantly at her side, checking vitals.

Leo looked up at the sound of a pigish squeal to catch Raph with his leg still extended from punting one of the brain blobs. He couldn't hold back the smile that crossed his face as he tracked it's flight path and saw that it splat on the outer ring of the target plastered on an exterminators billboard two buildings away.

"Yeah! And the crowd goes wild!" Raphael raised his arms in the universal symbol of 'GOAL'

"Nice shot."

"You know it!" His younger brother smirked with pride as he crossed his arms over his plastron.

Donatello shook his head at the antics as he unwrapped the residual coils from around the prostate woman's ankles and shoulders. "You guys are so imma…" The words were cut off as an electric current coursed through both of their bodies.

"Donnie!" Both Leo and Raph yelled in unison as they ran to the aid of their electrocuted brother pausing a step away from him in momentary confusion as to how to resolve the dilemma without being shocked themselves. Quickly enough Leo grabbed the bo staff from it's wielder's back and knocked the offending tendrils away from the jerking bodies. Raph looked up at him with panicked eyes as he went to cradle the taller turtle, who was moaning with pain.

"Give me a second." Leonardo responded to the unvoiced query.

Both of the injured were taller than himself and Raphael, making them awkward to carry and neither seemed capable of walking away assisted or not in the immediate future. Leaving one behind to evacuate the other to safety was not an option, more Kraang could show up at anytime. As he strategized, Leo picked up his katana from where he had dropped it to grab Donnie's staff and made a mental note to retrieve it's twin from where it was still lodged in the driver's seat of the van. The VAN!

"Help me load them"

"Come again?"

"You want to drag two mutants bigger than yourself through the city and try to stay hidden or would you like to ride home in a nice inconspicuous van?"

Raph gave him a dirty look as he looped his arms under Donnie's armpits and nodded for Leo to lift the other end of his brainy brother. "Yeah well, It not like a bunch of teens gettin' in a unmarked van with a stranger always works out so good." Leo heard the mumbled jab but choose to ignore it. They set their brother on his carapace for a moment to allow Leo to hop in and drag him further in, who then rolled him onto his plastron for a more comfortable ride. Already Donatello was showing signs of waking, a hand moving across the back of his head as it slowly twisted from side to side.

After giving a quick pat to his brothers' shell for both their comfort, Leo felt better knowing that his sibling would be awake soon, he returned to the back of the vehicle where the sound of Raph's frustrated complaints were increasing in volume.

"Oh comon'... sersly… dang Lady you need to lay off the chilidogs."

Leo saw that his brother was trying to lift the furry woman on his own but was having no luck with it. Normally he would have reprimand the teen for his rudeness but the lady in question was passed out and it was not a battle worth having, though he did send him a tight frown, knowing it would relay the message just as effectively.

"Yeah yeah, just shud-up and help me."

While they were used to hoisting a fellow turtle, shells did an amazing job at keeping a torso rigid, Leo could see now how his burly brother was having a hard time. The woman was a floppy mass of dead weight and just plain awkward to maneuver. After a short struggle, some bickering on the proper way to approach the problem and some accidental groping which left Raph blushing and Leo mortified, the women was loaded into the back with Donnie, Raph riding along to keep and eye on them both. Leo shut the back doors and ran to the drivers seat, where he had to pry his katana from the chest of the human-looking Kraang-bot and ditch the body in the alley. The keys were in the ignition and the turtle-teen started the engine, backed out and made his way towards their home. He wasn't as familiar with navigating the city at street level as he was via rooftop or sewer but was able to find a manhole cover close enough to the lair without threatening to give away it's location. He made sure to park so badly, partially blocking the intersecting street, that a cop was sure come along soon enough and have the vehicle towed. The least he could do was make sure the Kraang got a couple of parking tickets for all the trouble they had put him through tonight, the thought made Leonardo smile as he hopped out to let the passengers free.

* * *

Donatello had been vaguely aware of his brothers loading him in the vehicle but didn't have the energy or the inclination to protest. Even now he could hear them squabbling by the open doors at the back of the van and saw no reason to get himself involved, hi body just hurt too much to be bothered. He was _really_ getting tired of being shocked by alien technology or any technology for that matter. His own experiments were just as apt to tesla him as often as the Kraang-tech did. He felt a weight shifting in the back of the van quickly followed by the doors closing and the engine coming to life, Deciding that he really couldn't lie down on the job anymore the techy turtle sat up with a small grunt. He shook his head to clear away the last of the fuzziness from his brain and vision so that he could ascertain their current status.

"You aw'ight?"

"Yeah, what's a rescue mission without a little electric boogaloo." This earned him an amused snort from his temperamental brother. A pained groan from the van's other occupant cut off any further conversation. He and Raph exchanged a nervous glances, it looked like take two on formal introductions was about to begin.

Meeting new people was always a bit of a challenge for his family, the encounters more often than not started or ended with a fight. This occasion was no different but Donatello really wanted to do everything he could to make this particular mutant an ally, it was a small but crucial step to reuniting this woman, changed against her will, with one equally innocent little girl.

Donatello had heard her yell out for her daughter earlier so he was hopeful that a semblance of intelligence still remained within her new mutated form. Though it would be the best possible outcome for everyone involved Donnie still felt a bit of frustration at the scientific inconsistency of it all. How does the same substance strip the ability of cohesive thought and communication from brilliant men, like Kirby O'Neil, yet leave enough of both attributes in their enemies to make them a royal pain in his shell. It was unfair that this ooze that ruled and ruined so many lives refused to adhere to the boundaries of the scientific method so he could figure it all out. With so many variables that affected mutation the hopes of creating a viable retromutagen seemed insurmountable. Still here he was, now with two victims of fate to cure, both with daughters relying on him to restore their loved one's humanity. Great, no pressure.

Pushing these thoughts aside Donnie knelt beside the woman and gently shook her shoulder, hoping to rouse her more fully. The action had it's intended effect, though with a bit more vigor than he had anticipated. She sat bolt upright and scrambled as far back into the corner as she was able. She was panting and her pupils were pinpricks, the teenage teripain could practically feel the fear coming off her in waves. Donatello raised both his hands with fingers spread wide to show that he was unarmed and meant her no harm, even as he noticed his brother silently drawing his sais.

_Well they should at least TRY diplomacy first._ Donatello took a breath to steady his nerves and mentally crossed his fingers. _I hope this works._

"Hello ma'am. I can tell that you are very scared at the moment but please trust me, we mean you no harm." Dead stare. "OK… umm… well, my name is Donatello but you can call me Donnie. This is Raph and my brother Leo is driving us to a safe location." A couple of blinks. "When we get there you will get to meet our father and our youngest brother should be there as well with your little girl." Donnie paused, prepared for some kind of reaction or questions but she said nothing though her breathing had steadied to a more natural rhythm. Taking this as a positive sign he continued on. "I know we look strange but there is an explanation. My brothers and I all started out as regular pet turtles, but were mutated when we were exposed to an unusual chemical. That chemical had a reaction in our bodies with the last foreign DNA we came in contact with, which was human, so we became a blend of both human and turtle. The result is what you are seeing now." She closed her eyes for a moment and he could see that she was trying to absorb the reality of his explanation. Still Donatello could see the confusion in her eyes when she looked at him again, she hadn't quite faced her place in this new world unfolding before her yet he knew that she had to accept it. She was a mutant now and the Kraang were hunting her, if she were to stay safe she would have know the basic facts. He lowered his hands to rest on his lap as he knelt, keeping his movements slow and steady so as not to startle her. "It doesn't just work on animals though, humans can be affected in a similar fashion. Our father was once a man called Hamato Yoshi, before he was exposed to the same chemical as we were. The same chemical that you have been."

Finally there was a noticeable reaction. The woman stretched out her hand and looked at it, seemingly examining it closely for the first time since the accident. She then dropped that hand to her thigh, where it was exposed through a large rip in the fabric of her long skirt, and ran her fingers slowly through the fur she found there. He was distracted by a cough from Raph's direction and was amused to find his brother averting his eyes and a slight blush on his beak. Upon realizing that his brother had caught him Raph instantly cleared his throat and made a point to look directly at her.

"Yah ain't completely human nomor'. Get the pictur' sistur'..."

"VonHertz"

"Pardn'"

"Sister VonHertz." The woman seemed to have interpreted his brother's pause as a request for her to fill in her name. Both the response and the name itself were odd enough that Donnie filled it away in his mental "research later" file. "But I suppose you can can me Mrs. VonHertz." She spoke in a distracted tone, but Donatello was thrilled. He had seen intelligence behind her fear but to know that she could actually communicate with them was a huge weight off of his shoulders.

"Ms. Vo.."

"MRS." Her head snapped up to look the purple masked turtle in the eye and he could see the personality that sparked in her own. There was a strength there that reminded him so much of his own parent that he was instantly intrigued. He then noted that the van had stopped and sure enough when he looked back Leo was swinging the back doors wide, a manhole cover open just a few feet beyond.

"Everything ok back here?"

"Just peachy."

"Yes. Mrs. VonHertz…" Donnie gave her a wide gap-toothed smile. "... and I were just getting acquainted."

Though she was still a bit shaken they were able to get the mutant down into the sewers with some gentle coaxing and the group made their way to the lair at a steady pace. While Donnie was updating Leo on his perspective of their skirmish with the Kraang and that he had sent Mikey ahead Mrs. VonHertz had asked about her daughter. After receiving confirmation that the girl had been scared but was ok she fell into silence. Donnie kept up a one-sided conversation along the way home with her, during which she responded with only small nods or shakes of her head. They had just reached the turnstiles when the brainy turtle could no longer contain himself, he had his suspicions about her mutated form but wanted the confirmation from her.

"Mrs. VonHertz, what was the last animal you can remember touching before the accident?"

She looked at him before examining the tip of one finger. "I was at my… at a friend's house and he had just gotten a new pet a couple weeks beforehand. Poor thing must have still been nervous cause she bit me when I was holding her. Such a cute little ferr…" Her voice dropped off and her eyes took on a haunted look. Donnie followed her gaze to see that she was looking in Leo's direction as he was on his T-phone. Then he focused on his brother's side of the conversation.

"..eeding and unconscious? Ok Mikey calm down, I know it wasn't your fault just get here as fast as you can."

Next to him Mrs. VonHertz transformed from a quiet solemn figure to snarling enraged demon. She took off down the abandoned subway tracks in the opposite direction they had approached the lair from, knocking Donnie to the ground in her wake. He just sat on the ground stunned for a moment till Leonardo addressed him quickly before leaving to give chase. "Get the med kits ready, we're gonna need them." Just before he rounded the corner his oldest brother called back a final instruction. "Let sensi know we're about to have company!"

Suddenly Donatello wasn't sure which furry mutant parent he would rather face.

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**A/N: So many thanks to my good friend SunLux for her review and friendship, you always make me smile. ^_^* To SleepingSeeker, without whom this story would have died in darkness on my desktop, thank you so much for the reviews. It was your comment that pushed Leo ahead of so many other voices to tell this portion of the tale. Finally a shout-out to my real life friend Dave U. who beta read some of this for me. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Still don't own the TMNT gang just my own OC's such as they are.**

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Raphael brought up the rear as they made their way to the lair, only half listening to Donnie as the brainiac droned on. Though the night hadn't been that bad for him personally, any night he got to pulverize some puny pink aliens was a good one, he couldn't help but feel bad for the figure in front of him. Raph shuttered as the scene floated across his memory, just watching the way her body had convulsed in pain as it changed was a bit hard to shake off, he couldn't imagine what it must have felt like. Still within a few minutes she was up and ready to fight, the lady had some spunk.

Raph sighed as they neared the entrance to his subterranean home, it was pretty awful that this Mrs. VonHertz had been mutated, but there was little he could do to help the situation any further. He had done his part, beating up the Kraang that had tried to take her as a lab experiment, now it was up to the rest of his family to take it from here. With that thought in mind he passed his brother and Mrs. VonHertz to make his way towards the kitchen for a drink, punting brain slugs was thirsty work. Barely a step past them he happened to glance up into Leo's face and saw his blue mask creased with worry and fear followed by anger flash in his eyes. The T-phone he had been talking into lowered as his other hand shot out in a pleading gesture towards the two behind Raph where sound of a shell hitting concrete filled the red masked turtle's ears.

"No wait! Raph! Stop Her!"

It was a testament to Raphael's growing acceptance of Leonardo as their leader that he didn't question the order. His thirst forgotten he turned on the ball of one foot and raced after the mutant woman, ignoring his fallen brother he leaped over the turnstiles, planting one hand for the extra clearance and momentum. She was already racing along the subway tracts but not so far ahead that Raphael felt himself unable to overcome her. She was NOWHERE near Mikey's speed and untrained in the obstacles of tunnel running as evidenced by her occasional stumble as she tried to maintain her bipedal gait. The burly terrapin made a small hop to continue his pursuit along the top of a rail, it gave him smoother terrain and a slight height from with to launch himself, thought he guessed she would exhaust herself before he felt the need to make such a drastic measure. He was wrong. Ahead of him, echoing off the tunnels he heard the unmistakable sound of his bro in orange.

"... ease, you gotta wake up. Don't worry Nev you'll be fiAGGGAHHH!" Mikey skidded to a stop as he rounded the corner and saw both of them barreling his direction. He laughed nervously "ahaha… Hi Gwyn's mom. We were just on our way to see you." He shrugged abashedly and the movement caused the girl he cradled to moan in pain. If the situation was bad you could always count on Mikey to do something to make it worse.

From Raph's position he could actually see her hackles spike up and knew she was going to attack his idiotic little brother. Pouring on a last spurt of speed he lunged at her and managed to tackle her firmly around the waist and they both fell into puddle of moist sludge. Michelangelo snickered at the sight before a growl from the other turtle seemed to remind him that he was suppose to taking advantage of the distraction.

"Thanks Bro!" was all he heard before Mikey launched himself to the higher concrete platform that lined the sides of the tracks and raced away in the direction of home. Raph tried to adjust his hold on the mutant to wrestle her into a more secure position but it was proving extremely difficult despite his advanced skills. Every time he attempted to pin her she would twist, wiggle and snap her pointed teeth at any nearby appendage. So, for couple minutes they were nothing more than a rolling shifting ball of shell, mud, fur and fabric. The extended grapple would have normally been in the young terrapin's favor as he wore his opponent down but the terrain put him at a disadvantage. Though Raph didn't mind getting down and dirty, as they rolled in the mud the sludge made her clothes and fur slick and his hold became more and more tenuous till she managed to scramble out from underneath him. A departinging kick from her back leg, as she scurried away on all fours, connected solidly with his left shoulder and forced him to fall back hitting his shell heavily on a rail.

It wasn't a major blow but the vibrations left him winded for a few precious seconds, enough to know that he wouldn't catch up to her before she reached the lair again. Not willing to give into defeat he quickly got up and trotted towards the turnstiles, where he was in time to see his brother guarding the entrance of their home. Leo kept her attention on him with the threat of his blades while Raphael saw his sensei come up behind her and jab quickly towards the back of her neck. It must have been nothing short of beginner's luck that she dodged the precision blow, it had to be, because Splinter never missed and the shock of it as she rounded on the rat master was apparent on his face.

"Where is my DAUGHTER!" she screamed with rage as she lunged at the taller mutant, mouth wide and aimed at his master's throat. Raphael's heart stopped as he registered that both he and Leo were racing forward in an attempt to put themselves between the death blow and their father. In hindsight it was foolish fear to have, this was Master Splinter after all.

Faster than they could blink Splinter stepped to the side and then brought an elbow down between her shoulder blades while still twisting into the blow he brought his other arm around to wrap her neck in a choke hold, then pulling up and causing her back to arch to prevent from being being strangled, the distraction allowed him to capture both her wrists in his other hand.

He pulled the woman tight against the length of his body to keep her maneuvering room to a minimum. "You will be calm or I will make you so. Do you understand?"

She responded by curling up her lip and growling, Raph got a clear view of one sharp canine. He also saw Master Splinter barely flex the forearm around her neck, it was apparently enough to make her reconsider. Her face smoothed out and her body slightly relaxed in reluctant submission. It was rare that they got to see their sensei in action outside the dojo so Raph was having a hard time containing the child-like admiration he could feel bubbling up inside. No doubt that their dad was a badass, though he could never share that particular sentiment with his father. Still he couldn't suppress the smile of pride that crossed his face.

Though the woman seemed to have given up Master Splinter did not release his hold on her and marched her forcibly through their home, with a backwards glance to his two sons indicating that they should follow him. Raph and Leo looked at each other with questioning eyes but then just shrugged and obeyed their father's silent command. As they passed the door to the lab she resumed her struggle against Master Splinter's hold though this time with a more verbal component.

"I can smell her shampoo. I know she's in there. LET ME GO! She's MY child! I can smell..." Her angry demands turned quiet with pleading desperation and she went still "... blood. So much blood. Please, you have to take me to her."

Splinter slid his arm down to encircle her shoulders but didn't release her wrists and continued to lead her through the main area of the lair, heading in the direction of the bathroom. "I know. The odor will seem very strong to you, but you must trust me, it is but a small amount. In time you will learn to distinguish these things. She is safe and we will care for her. I promise, you will see her soon but first you must attend to yourself." They had reached the bathroom and like the brown noser he was, Leo stepped forward to open the door for them. Splinter and the mutated woman entered and stopped in front of the mirror, finally releasing her hands but placing his own in a comforting gesture on her shoulders.

Mrs. VonHertz touched one hand to the mirror and the other to her face. It was sad to watch the final realization of what she was sink into her eyes. She was a freak now, just like the rest of them. On top of that she looked pretty horrible at the moment. Her clothes were disheveled and ripped and her fur was coated in sewer muck and sticking out at odd angles. Not to mention the odor, Raph wasn't exactly a spring daisy at the moment either, but something about the wet fur just made it worse.

"The mother your daughter is seeking comfort from is not here. We will do all in our power to help but for now you must listen to me." Splinter conversed with her via the reflection overtop of the woman's head. "Take a moment to cleanse and calm yourself. Trust me," Raph saw his sensei smile and heard the humor enter his voice. "you do not want this mess to dry in your fur." With a pat on the shoulder he left her there staring at her reflection, striding over to where Leo and Raph waited outside the door. "Leonardo, you will come with me. Raphael you will attend to our guest's needs."

"Oh come on." The adrenaline was wearing off and Raph was exhausted, all the teen really wanted to do was relax, not play butler.

It was apparently the wrong moment for teenage backtalk because the rat-master turned on him with fury in his deep red eyes. "There is a wounded little girl in the lab, her mutated mother in the bathroom and no mutagen canisters retrieved, which was the entire point of your mission." Splinter paused and continued in a slow dangerous manner. "Would you care to take your brother's place in explaining to me how this all came about?"

Raphael swallowed "No Sensei."

"Very well then, keep her here until I come for you both." With that he walked away with Leonardo a step behind, shoulders drooping in defeat.

All that Raph could think was that maybe it was good **not** to be the leader somedays. That and he never did get his glass of water.

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**A/N:** As always my greatest thanks to SunLux for her continued support, this one is for you, please forgive it's shortness. To all those who give this story a chance I thank you for your time and hope you have enjoyed the few minutes spent here. Reviews are welcome along with critiques. Those just wishing to chat... come here and let me love you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All rights reserved per original creators and copyright owners. In the case of mutant turtles, that isn't me. This story takes place in 2012 Nickverse.**

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When she was given the explanation she could hardly believe her ears. However when her new hand touched the fur on her body she knew that this was indeed reality. Still she remained floating in mental fog that was only willing to allow the bare minimum of external truths to permeate the emotional walls that it had erected. Slowly she processed what was happening one fact at a time. These turtle-boys were real, no boy was the wrong word, way too arrogant to be true children, teenagers then. So if they were real then their story had to be true. What reason would they have to lie to her anyway? Besides, life had taught her that it could often be stranger than fiction, though she never imagined it could reach this level of strangeness. Regardless it meant that she really had been changed by that green substance. When Donnie asked her about her most recent animal encounter acceptance was beginning to dawn and burn away the haze of lingering denial. Yet in the middle of dealing with these life-altering changes to her existence she was confronted by a threat to her daughter and all mental leaps were thrown aside.

She had accepted that Gwyn was safe with their absent brother and to hear that her child had sustained further injuries caused rational thought to depart. Once again she acted on that purely instinctual level and rushed out to meet the threat. After that she had no real recollection of events beyond a general impression of running, anger and fighting. It was only when a powerful forearm threatened her continued consciousness did reason once again return. She couldn't see who held her wrists in a vice-like grip but could feel the commanding presence as she was pulled against a tall body and the voice that reverberated through her brokered no argument. She hated that she was being forced and snarled in protest against the invasion upon her will. But the strength in the flexing muscle across her neck showed that there was no option but to comply so going against every fiber of her being she surrendered.

Knowing this to be their home, it was then apparent that this had to be the father Donatello had spoken about. The human who had also been changed. This mutual connection alone made her want to follow his lead without further protest but the scent of green apples that invaded her nostrils changed that. It was Gwynever's signature scent and it was coming from behind the closed metal doors they were passing. She couldn't help but struggle even though she knew it was pointless.

"I can smell her shampoo. I know she's in there. LET ME GO! She's MY child! I can smell..." The realization of what the scent that was quickly overtaking her daughter's sweetness chilled her to the bone and she stopped struggling. "... blood. So much blood." Her need to reach her child was so great now that she swallowed her pride and begged. "Please, you have to take me to her."

She felt his arm loosen and slide, the shift from commanding to comforting was tangible and a part of her desperately wanted to surrender to the despair threatening to overwhelm her and just let him hold her. To let his comforting words sink into her heart like a healing balm. Something about him made her want to trust him, that he was a pillar of strength she could lash herself to in this whirlwind of confusion her life had just become. She was almost thankful for his harsh hands and quick pace, it kept her from drowning in her emotions until he placed her in front of the mirror, then nothing could hold back the flood.

The feel of fur on her face was as real as the glass underneath the fingertips of her other hand. This was happening and no amount of rationalization could cushion the blow. There were no words to describe the panic that was welling up from deep inside. She wanted to cry, scream, fight and flee. Yet she stood there immobile, the calm eye in the center of her own personal storm. Then like a lightning bolt his words hit her.

"The mother your daughter is seeking comfort from is not here." Her eyes locked on his in the reflection of the mirror, silently begging him to take it back. It couldn't be true yet seeing her own image next to his and the pity in his face towards her, it could not be denied. If she couldn't be Gwyn's mother then there was nothing else left for her in this world, she felt lost and adrift.

"We will do all in our power to help but for now you must listen to me." She latched onto the phrase with the desperation of a drowning victim. It didn't matter that she barely knew this man. It didn't matter that he looked like a rat. It didn't even matter that he had assaulted her, she had deserved it. If he could bring Gwyn back to her, to accept her as she was now then she would do everything that he said. She hated herself for thinking like this, it wasn't who she was, but did that even matter anymore? Who was she now anyway?

"Take a moment to cleanse and calm yourself. Trust me, you do not want this mess to dry in your fur." She didn't want to face the fact that she had fur now. Didn't want to explore the changes in her own body that peeling away the protective layers of cloth and dirt would reveal. Still the new ferret-woman couldn't deny thatit was a sound piece of advice and though she couldn't yet smile his humor that accompanied it inwardly warmed her. After he left she was thankful for such a realistic course of action, the thought helped her to tear herself away from the mess of a creature that was looking back at her with it's haunted eyes.

She turned away from the mirror and took in the bathroom. It had the feel of a public restroom with stalls and separate sinks, though the back half of the long room appeared to have been altered. Several stalls seemed to have been removed in favor of an open shower area with a large soaking tub opposite. Suddenly the filth she was covered in became oppressive and all other thoughts were pushed aside in favor of nice hot shower. She was in the process of shrugging out what was left of her clothing when she heard a voice behind her.

"ehehe… man is he so gonna get it! Wish I could be a fly on AHHHHH! What the shell ya think you're donin'!" She paused with her arms crossed and still in the holes of her long sleeved shirt while her back was partially exposed to him. Glancing over her shoulder she saw that it was the teen in red, Raph, and was instantly annoyed by his presence. Flashes ghosted across her memory and she was able to recall that it was his fault that she was such a mess. She dropped the shirt to the floor and adjusted her silk camisole back down to cover her exposed midriff. Since it was common for her to wear layers no real harm had been done, regardless she was still miffed at being caught in the act of undressing.

"I would think that was obvious. The question is what are you doing in here?"

"Splinter told me ta help ya."

She turned to face him then, one hand propped on a cocked hip, tone full of agitation. "I assure you, young man, I have been undressing myself long before you were born… or hatched… or whatever. I got this."

She had often been accused of having a sense of humor a few degrees off the norm and it was in danger of showing because in the midst of her personal turmoil she was about to breakdown into hysterical laughter. The sight of the turtle in front of her blushing so intensely that he was close to matching the mask he wore was suddenly the funniest thing in the world and she had to fight off the sudden rush of endorphins in order to keep a straight face.

"That's not…I dinna mean to… I was just gonna… ahhh... get ya stuff." He finished weakly before his face scrunched up with indignation. She found it hilarious.

"Is everything in here already?"

"Huh?"

"Soap, towels, sponge, robe, ect.?"

"Ummm… yes. Cept' a robe."

"Then be a good lad and fetch me something to change into." He looked like an angry puppy and a smirk slipped onto her lips.

"But…"

"It's a bathroom, not a space station. I think I can figure it out on my own. Therefore, your presence is no longer required." She turned away from him again unable to hide the full blown smile she felt coming on. She waited for him to leave and when he didn't, she began to slowly slip her skirt down to her hips, silently daring him to remain. It worked and she soon she heard angry footsteps followed by the door slamming shut. She walked over to it and engaged the lock. On her way back to the showers she happened to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. The long triangular face and silver-white fur were still alien to her but nestled in a fuzy grey mask were eyes that sparkled with familiar mirth.

"Good to see you're still in there Eliza."

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Splinter lead the way to the dojo not bothering to look back once. He walked to the shelf that held their little shrine, something he often did when troubled and gazed at the family he once had and a human face that was no longer his own. He had long ago accepted his mutated state though to say that he was completely comfortable within his own body would have been false.

Since his encounter with the Rat King he had become unbalanced in the separation of beast from man. Some days were better than others and it was not something that he showed to his sons, it was barely something he admitted to himself. Nonetheless, the rift was there and the constant threats to his family and emergence of new mutations gave him no peace in which to mend it. Today's development was proving to be particularly unsettling. To see that poor child and then her mutated mother attempting to reach her in such a desperate and animalistic manner stirred deep feelings within him. In some ways he was shamed, during his mental lapse he had attacked his sons and yet her first instinct had been to protect her daughter, even though she saw his family as her foes.

Splinter tore his mind from his spiraling thoughts, there would be time enough to deal with them later and focused on his eldest who was kneeling behind him. "Report." Though he tried to remain calm he could not keep his rising irritation out of the single word.

"Hai Sensei. We were tracking some mutagen when we came across a group of Purple Dragons in an alley. I could overhear their leader talking with what sounded like the Kraang on the phone. He was arranging a meet-up for an exchange and it seemed like a good opportunity to get some intel, maybe follow the Kraang back to their new base. We didn't hear a location just a time so we followed the group as they left the alley."

Splinter nodded, acknowledging the validity of the strategy but said nothing as his son continued.

"So everything was fine until a few blocks later when they split up and both had mutagen signatures with them. Mikey and I stayed with the gang's boss while Raph and Donnie took the other group." Splinter saw his son's neck retreat a little bit into his shell, a clear sign that he would not be happy with what Leonardo was about to say. "It was getting close to the rendezvous time and neither of our tails seemed to be paying off so I called Donnie and had him check the tracker again. A much stronger signal than the ones we were following was now in the complete opposite direction, back where we had started. We hadn't realized that one of them had hung back with the majority of the mutagen. By the time we made it back there he was already running down the block and we heard the screams coming from the alleyway. We couldn't ignore the pleas for help and dropped to street level when we saw what was going on. I don't know how it got on her but it was clear that Mrs. VonHertz was being mutated." His son's voice then started to fill with regret as he rehearsed the battle with the Kraang that followed and it's aftermath.

Splinter escalated from quietly absorbing the facts to pacing in agitation while clasping his hands behind his back, it was all he could do to keep a growl out of his throat. He could excuse his sons of many of their faults and he knew well enough that some things cannot be controlled but the sheer amount of poor judgement that Leonardo laid before him was tasking even his patience. He stopped and stared down at his son as Leonardo finished his report. "She must have overheard me on the phone with Mikey cause that's when she freaked out and took off. I'm so sorry Sensei. She seemed calm enough in the van and walking back to the lair. I didn't realize that she would be a danger to our home. I don't think she likes Michelangelo very much in particular, it might be a good idea to keep them apart." He looked into his father's face, prepared to receive his parent's words.

"Seeing that you have had few "good ideas" this night I reserve that judgement for myself." The rat-master snapped at him and the turtle's entire posture shifted lower in shame. "If I understand correctly Michelangelo was put in charge of the young girl, Raphael lead the charge into battle and Donatello handled first aid and introductions. And what were you? Little more than a delivery boy who couldn't even bring home the correct package."

"I tried Sensei but she…"

"Do NOT lay blame elsewhere. To do so is the mark of a poor leader." Leonardo shrunk in even more on himself, bent over so far in supplication that his plastron touched his knee pads. Splinter took a calming breath, he must correct his son but there was no need to do so with anger. That he had spoken so harshly already was indicative of how affected he was by these turn of events. "Tell me my son, what was your biggest mistake tonight?"

Leonardo sighed, raising his body slightly but still keeping his head down. "I lost sight of the target. Everything that followed was my fault."

"My son, following the wrong lead was indeed a mistake. But not the one I am most disappointed in." It was the master's turn to sigh and let his shoulders slump just a bit. "It was your lapse regarding the girl that brings me sorrow. She called for your help and yet you ignored her in favor of dealing with her mother."

This comment brought Leo upright, looking at his father in confusion. "Master Splinter, we did save her. If we hadn't been there they would have both become mutants. How is that ignoring her call for help?" Anger had started to leached into the confusion in his voice and Splinter could tell that his son really did not comprehend.

"No Leonardo, that is not what speak of. Do you recall when the Rat King caused me to fight you and your brothers?" The teen said nothing but nodded. "Though I was not in control of my actions I remember every moment. I could see the fear in your eyes as I held your own to sword to your throat. You boys are a trained ninja and all your life have known a world different from that of those who dwell above. Prepared as you all were, that moment still affected this family. You will not admit it, but that next week I was aware that you shied away from me. Yet, many times I also caught you placing yourself between your brothers and I. Though you knew I loved you all and had not meant to harm you, still you were afraid." His son looked away from him and it was merely a confirmation to Splinter of what he already knew.

"Now this young girl, who never before could even imagine our world exists, has borne witness to her mother's humanity ripped away before her very eyes. What a horrible thing for a child to see. To then have her changed parent lunge at her, only to be subdued like an animal underneath your brother's firm hands, I fear has left deep scars. How do you think she will look upon her mother now?" Splinter's voice was filled with remorse and pity as he continue to open his son's eyes to the true damage he may have caused.

"Yes you saved her body but by keeping her in that alley you may have damaged so much more. You should have sent her away earlier. Keeping them together and then placing yourselves between a parent and child only escalated the situation. I had hoped you would have learned this lesson already given your experience with Ms. O'Neil." Splinter stopped, not wishing to add to the pain he could see in his son's countenance. It was unfair to judge his son's mistakes against the weight of his own experience. Yet if they were to continue to interact with humans on the surface Leonardo must stretch himself beyond his own limited understanding of how the world worked. His own guilt about both sheltering and then releasing his children to that world was best not examined at the moment.

He placed a comforting hand on his eldest shoulder. "We no longer have the option to stay hidden below but you must remember that not all are involved the war we fight. Protecting innocence, in all its forms, must take precedence."

"Yes, Master Splinter. I will try harder."

He stood up straighter and frowned at the top of his son's bowed head. "Trying is not an option only success. People's lives hang in the balance and they deal with the results of your failure long after you and your brothers have moved onto the next battle." His ear twitched. "Is there something I can help you with my sons?" He raised his voice and directed it towards the open arch of the dojo's entrance.

Raphael and Michelangelo stepped into view both having the decency to look abashed at being caught eavesdropping. He narrowed his eyes at the elder one, upset that he was not at the post assigned to him. Raphael flinched slightly at his father's scrutiny but quickly came to his own defense.

"She's in the shower and wants a robe." His son rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his stance slightly. "Her clothes are kinda a wreck." Splinter evaluated Raphael for a moment before gesturing broadly towards his own quarters. The teen gave a barely perceptible nod, acknowledging his master's permission and entered the room to retrieve the requested attire.

"And you Michelangelo?"

His youngest son stepped forward and flashed a nervous smile, one hand resting on the knot of his mask. "Donnie said to tell you that Gwyn was gonna be ok, Sensei. It wasn't as bad as it seemed." His son looked extremely relieved by this and so was Splinter. "She should be awake pretty soon and he wants to know how you want to handle it." Michelangelo moved to his father's side and looked at him with those wide pleading eyes that always touched his heart. "Gwyn's a nice girl, Master Splinter, she was scared but she still smiled at me." Michelangelo tapped his two middle fingers together, dropped his gaze and continued softly. "She didn't like looking at me though." Splinter's felt a familiar constricting in his chest. His young son was kind and sensitive to others, yet in many ways he was also the most desperate to immerse himself in human society. Already he could see the teen's desire to befriend this young girl and the prospect that she would reject him was a cause for concern. Of himself, Splinter had no such qualms, the youngest turtle was their source of joy and light and given enough time to adjust, no one could stand against his beaming personality. It would all work itself out eventually and for the time being the rat-man had more pressing matters to attend to.

Splinter placed a comforting hand on the top of the orange banded terrapin's head. "Thank you, Michaelangelo. I shall be there momentarily." His youngest son left then, his posture a bit more subdued than was his norm. A few moments later Raphael re-entered the dojo with his silent master and brother, who had avoided eye contact with his siblings as they had conversed with their father, one of Splinter's faded summer robes over his arm and a belt scrunched up in his other hand.

"Tell Mrs. VonHertz I will be with her soon, if she wishes you may both wait for me in the kitchen."

Raphael paused briefly to acknowledge his master. "Yes, Sensei." He then spared a glance to his older brother, taking in his defeated posture, before leaving to fulfill his task.

Splinter did not miss the look but choose to ignore the glint of haughty satisfaction at his brother's humiliation in Raphael's eyes. The boys would just have to work it out between themselves, if they choose to address it at all. For the moment his family would have to take a backseat to another.

"Stay here Leonardo and meditate on what we have discussed. I will see if this situation can be mended." With a single pat to his son's shell Master Splinter walked away, leaving a guilt ridden young leader in his wake.

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**A/N:** What can I say to the amazing people who I have had conversations with this week? Words will always fail to express the depth of gratitude I continue to have towards you, but know that I feel it to the very core of my being. Thank you everyone for your reviews, your follows and for the time you spare to read this story.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Nope still don't own them. If I did they would just act out these scenes instead of me having to write them. **

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Michelangelo opened the door to the lab expectantly only to be disappointed when Donatello shook his head to the question yet to leave his younger brother's lips. Nev wasn't awake yet. Even though he was trying his VERY best to behave himself Mikey couldn't help but throw his head towards the ceiling, roll his eyes and let loose a frustrated groan.

"You seem to forget," His brother chastised with eyes narrowed in annoyance as he draped a blanket over Nev's prone form. "We don't actually want her to be awake yet. Last time she saw either one of us wasn't exactly pleasant."

"I know that." Mikey responded in a quiet voice, his hurt at the reminder slipping thru. "But she has to wake up sometime. And then it's gonna be completely awesome, cause she'll get to hang out with us ALL the time. Her mom can't exactly go back to the surface right now so I bet Splinter will have them stay in the lair. We'll have movie nights and arcade tournaments, I'll make my best recipes and show Gwyn my favorite comics. We'll have so much fun! It'll be just like when Apr.." The younger turtle clamped his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't finish the sentence but the damage had already been done.

Donatello visibly deflated at the comment, it had been weeks since Mr. O'Neil had been transformed and April had yet to contact them or even turn on her T-phone. Mikey knew that his brother was hurting, he'd been witness to the long hours the genius spent holed up in the lab trying to reverse the damage they'd caused. Still, Donnie seemed to forget that he wasn't the only one mourning the absence of their red-headed friend. April wasn't just their only human friend, someone whose life was wrapped up with the Kraang or their connection to the surface. No, April was family and Mikey missed her, they all did.

Donatello started to put the medical supplies away and the silence between them grew heavy until the taller turtle commented without making eye contact. "It doesn't matter. That's not our decision." Whether he was talking about the girl currently in the lab or the one absent from it, Mikey couldn't tell.

Having no way to respond Mikey simply made his way to the table the Nev was laying on and looked down at her. She lay on her stomach, head resting to the side on the pillow he had fetched from the long benches of the pit. Her left shoulder was a mass of white bindings with only a slight reddish-pink stain in the middle where her blood had seeped through before deciding that the best place to stay really was inside her body. While Donatello had be bandaging her up she had been fidgety and fitful, causing Mikey to have to sit on the table with her, holding her upright and still for his brother to wrap the wound properly. She would occasionally open her eyes but each time they seemed glazed over and unfocused, never actually looking at either turtle before closing again. The entire process was often accompanied by her small noises of pain and distress.

Now though she was still and seemed at peace, but her slightly upturned nose would occasionally scrunch up. Her long hair lay in a curtain across her face. In the course of their flight and her struggles it had worked free of its braid, one that had accented the multi-tone qualities of her dirty blond hair, filling the air with a sweet scent that reminded him of the 'Jolly Rancher' candies April had once given him. Now that the danger was over Michelangelo could let his curious mind roam and he wondered if it bothered her, having all those little strands so close to her nose, and thought that maybe he should move it for her. Just as he was about to reach out she shifted and both he and Donnie froze, waiting to see what would happen.

She took a deep breath and then brought one hand to her face swiping the hair away and promptly stuck her middle and forefinger in her mouth. The rest of the digits curled underneath her rounded chin, grouped together much like his own three fingered hand. She sighed contently through her nose and her whole face seem to melt in relaxation as the quiet noises of her self soothing gesture drifted thru the lab.

"Awwww!" Mikey couldn't hold back the declaration as he felt his eyes widen and waver. "She's so ADORABLE!" He look at his brother for confirmation only to see the taller turtle roll his eyes and finish up restoring the lab to order. Mikey just stuck his tongue out in the general direction of the geek's shell, annoyed that he wouldn't admit to what was so obviously true. He quickly switched to an innocent whistle as his brother turned back around.

Donnie simply smiled. "Master Splinter, didn't hear you come in."

Michelangelo yelped and jumped to the side, arms thrown across his head and upper plastrom instinctually, as he became aware that his father was standing directly behind him. "hhahaha, hi Sensei."

"Had you heard me I would be a poor master indeed, Donatello." He stepped forward to look at the form on the lab table. "Your form and reflexes are sloppy, Michelangelo. We will address this later."

"Ghhaahh." the youngest turtle moaned, knowing of the extra katas that were bound to come his way.

"I thought you said that she was waking." Splinter looked to the older turtle for answers.

"She was fitful, part unconscious and part delirious from the pain but has now fallen into in a more natural sleep pattern. If we left her alone she could wake up in 10 minutes or hours from now, but now we can wake her up and I'm fairly certain that she'll be lucid.

"I see… Michelangelo said that she was scared of our… appearances."

"That seems to be the case. I couldn't even get her to breath properly until I had her close her eyes. Mikey was able to have a short conversation with her so it seems that she'll be able to adapt… eventually. The added factor of visual stimuli appears to overwhelm her ability to cope in a stressful environment. It's actually a very interesting example of … blah blah blah sciency stuff." Mikey tuned his brother out, not interested in details that wouldn't help him fix the problem. He'd only known Nev for a few hours but it made his stomach do funny things to think that she was scared to look at him. Were they really so bad? He didn't blame her but that doesn't mean it didn't still hurt. He looked to his father for some sort of comfort but Master Splinter had his eyes closed and was stroking his beard. Long minutes passed as he remained in his obvious 'I'm thinking of something really profound.' pose.

"While I would prefer to let her sleep it may be best to deal with this matter quickly. Donatello, turn off all the lights. We shall use the darkness to our advantage. What is the child's name again?"

"Ne… ah Gwynevere." Mikey answered as the lab was plunged into darkness. Only the soft glow from the computer monitor remained and the three ninja melted into the shadows.

"Gwynevere. Gwynevere, it is time to get up." Sensei called softly, and got no reaction whatsoever so he increased the volume. "Gwynevere." She shifted just a tiny bit but the only noticeable difference was the pause in her finger suckling. "Kids." Came an exasperated sigh. "GWYNEVERE! You are late!" Talk about a reaction! She pushed herself up, arching her back causing the blanket to fall to the floor and looked around the room in a daze, fell back to the pillow, curled into a little ball on her side and groped blindly about for the missing covers. She looked she like had all intentions of falling back to sleep. "Gwynevere, wake up." Sensei said in a stern but caring tone.

With a huge yawn the girl seemed to rouse herself a little bit but still remained curled up and close eyed. "Mr. Xiang?" She asked sleepily, misidentifying the male voice. "What time is it? Did we sleep here last night? *yawn* I thought mom and I were gonna head back to the hotel." She asked her questions without waiting for an answer. She rubbed her eyes and started to extend her body from its fetal position. "Where's mom by the way, I wanna tell… *yawn*... her about this crazy dream I had." Mikey could tell he wasn't the only one to stiffen at her monologue, it wasn't a good sign that she thought last night was all in her imagination. Nev was in for a rude awakening.

Master Splinter of course knew how to roll with it. "Tell me of your dream."

"I must have fallen asleep during the movie cause' that's where the dream starts. Umm… Let's see… we finished watching the movie and left. I headed to the stairs while you and mom said 'goodbye'." She giggled like she knew a particularly juicy secret. "And then down in the alley mom bumped into some guy when she opened the door and he started yelling at mom about breakin' a canister or somthins. Then… ummm.. Mom tried to say sorry but he was like really rude and calling her bad names so she tried to leave but he got in her way and that… that made her mad so she started yelling. That's when things started getting really kinda umm… weird. The guy said somthins about whatever was broken not 'going to waste' and threw this glowing gunk on her and ran away. Mom started to scream then… then I started to scream then these weird green boys showed up and ouch!" While she had been telling them about her 'dream' she had been stretching out her body in a sort of waking ritual, starting at her toes and working her way up. At this point she was starting to work on her shoulders and finally became aware of her injury. Nev twisted and sat up, trying to rotate her shoulder but even in the limited light Mikey could see the pain on her face. "Was it was real?" She whispered to herself as she brought a hand up to touch the bandages.

"Yes, I'm afraid it was." Master Splinter responded remorsefully from the dark and her eyes darted to the direction his voice had come from.

"No... no.. no. It was a dream, Mr. Xiang, it can't be real. This… this isn't funny." A panicked and angry tone entered her voice as she jumped down from the table and inched away from our direction and towards the computer, maybe for more light. "Where are we? What happened to me? Where's my mom? Did you hurt her too?!"

"I promise you child, it was not a dream. My name is Splinter, not Xiang, and you are in my home." With every word out of Splinter's mouth she looked more and more frightened and started to search around her. "No harm is meant and we only wish to help you." Gwyn swooped down retrieving a large wretch from the floor and held it in front of her defensively.

"I don't BELIEVE YOU!" she screamed. This was not working and Michelangelo was getting upset seeing her so upset. He moved to go to her, to comfort her but felt a restraining claw on the lip of his shell.

"What would help you believe us? You spoke of boys that were green, they are here with me." Sensei was killing him with this slow teasing reveal. "Would you like to see them?" Mikey was dying show himself to her now but seeing how sensitive and confused Nev seemed to be he kept himself in check, awaiting her permission to come forward.

"Stay back, I… I'll hit you if come close." She hefted the wrench to her good shoulder like a baseball bat and a small part of him wanted to laugh, she was like tiny angry kitten with her empty threats. He felt sensei release him and took it as permission to try and speak to her.

"Don't you remember me Gwyn? I told you this this was a night you were never gonna forget." She shifted her gaze to him and he smiled even though she couldn't see him. "Not nice, trying prove me wrong already, dudette."

"Mi… Mikey?"

He was overjoyed, hearing her call his name for the first time. She did remember and so taking a leap of faith he stepped into the pool of soft light, hands up in a soothing gesture. "That's right. It was crazy out there but you're safe now. My bro Donnie hooked you up." He put a hand on his own shoulder indicating the bandages.

She mirrored his gesture, as if she needed to touch something to make the moment real. Nev examined him intently and he could see her making the connections. Piecing together the night's events and placing him within them. After a few minutes of quiet observation she took a big cleansing breath and seemed to accept the reality in front of her. It was an emotional transition and her eyes grew bright with unshed tears. When she finally spoke her voice is quiet and scared. "I thought you were nice. So why did you hurt me?"

The question was like a punch to the gut. "I di… I didn't mean to. I didn't know that you were hurt so bad and I guess all the jumping made it worse."

"It's partially my fault as well, I was more concerned with making sure you were stable." Donnie talked softly but chose to remain in shadow. "I didn't realize that the laser blast had caused enough damage to create a 2nd degree burn. I got distracted when I saw the Kraang taking your mom away. I sho…"

"Someone took my MOM?!"

"No, it's ok. She's here."

"Where? I want to see her. Take me to her." Gwyn lowered the wrench to table and stepped forward ready to go to her parent.

"Calm down, child. You will see her soon." Master Splinter tried to placate her, but Nev's face scrunched up and took on a whole new quality. Stubborn.

"No. Now."

"I do not think you understand…"

"I. Said. NOW!"

Both Donatello and Michelangelo sucked in and held their breaths. No one EVER talked to Master Splinter like that with facing severe consequences. That particular lesson was so ingrained in them they must have learned it in a time they no longer had the ability to recall. Mikey partially shrunk into his shell in sympathy as Master Splinter stepped past the young turtle and revealed himself to her in the dim light. She gasped and took a step back and frankly he didn't blame her. The play of shadows combined with his father's bold marking made him look kinda creepy even to someone who'd lived with him for 15 years. Splinter bowed to make himself equal to her eye level and the two began an epic stare down.

The seconds grew heavy as Nev wrapped her arms around her torso in a self-hug though she didn't turn away. When Gwyn finally spoke her voice was thick with fear but still determined. "Please, I just want my mommy."

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**A/N: I'll be honest. I am not completely happy with this chapter. A lot of what I wanted to convey is there but it feels off. It was hard to pull together and didn't end where I thought it would. Kinda like it was twisting in a different direction even as I was typing and I couldn't make it come back. I had to finally admit that it was time to cut it loose and move forward. Constructive criticism would be helpful for me to make clarifications and adjustments for future chapters. Sorry for the delay only to offer such poor results. La sigh.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: *checking papers in the safe* Nope, still don't have a deed to any turtles. **

**For optimum experience for this chapter please see my ( lydjachan. tumblr .com )page for an audio supplement. Begin at the *****play* prompt. **

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Mrs. VonHertz's time in the bathroom had been enlightening on many levels, most of which she would rather not think about but had no choice but to. With a quick perusal of the room she easily found some bar soap, a long handled brush and a few threadbare but clean towels. Deciding to forgo the shower for the moment she instead laundered her clothing. The simple task helped her do something productive while slowly acclimating herself to her new circumstances and think on what would happen next. The good news was that most of her clothes were salvageable with only the skirt being in need of major repairs, shoes were MIA and looking at her new feet it seemed to be a moot point anyways. The bad news was that her sewing kit, along with all their other possessions, were back in the hotel room. All things considered it was a trivial matter to worry about but sorting these small details helped her in restoring order to her world. So she started a mental list; retrieving luggage, emails that needed to be sent, plans that would have to be changed, excuses concocted and some crucial phone calls that would have to be made. It had to still be early enough in the day that she and Gwyn would not yet be missed and thankfully she had accounted for some more laid back days in their itinerary. She chuckled wryly to herself as she wrung out the extra water from her garments and slung them over the walls of the stalls to dry, _Guess I won't have to worry about getting those tickets to 'Aladdin' on broadway after all. _

Eliza then returned to the shower, instead of standing she choose to sit on the tiled floor, she didn't quite trust her equilibrium yet and would rather not risk the prospect of slipping. Using brush and soap she worked up a good lather and then set about the task of washing the remaining filth from her new body. It was strange experience to see clawed toes perched at the end of elongated feet and she would take the time to flex each digit, almost like she needed to reestablish that she really was in charge of the simple motor functions that belong to these alien appendages. This process continued as each limb and body part was washed until at last she finally acknowledged that she was entirely clean and stood to shut the water off before resting her head against the tiled wall. Reality was firmly rooted in her mind now but acceptance would be a long time coming.

After a few minutes of just breathing and listening to the sound of water dripping from her soaked fur Eliza set herself to the task of drying off. She ran her now four-fingered hand along her body in an attempt to squeegee off the most water possible, once again using the opportunity to evaluate the changes she had undergone. Ignoring the fur as is now clunge to the form underneath, many of her voluminous human curves remained but some of her skeletal structure had definitely shifted. Her thighs and shins seemed truncated while it felt as if she had gained several extra vertebrae in both her back and neck. Her foot was completely different and if she tried to stand as she normally would have her balance was questionable, however she soon found that walking like she was in invisible high heels, gave both stability and comfort. It made Eliza feel ridiculous.

Satisfied the she had done all she could to remove the excess she moved to retrieve a towel and complete the process when she was seized by an overwhelming urge to immediately rid herself of the remaining traces of moisture on her body. Before she was even able to think of suppressing the instinct Mrs. VonHertz found herself dropping on all fours and shaking like a dog, drops of water flying from her and fur fluffing out, even down to her newly acquired tail. She stayed frozen in the pose for seconds that stretched like hours before returning upright jerkily, eyes scanning the room to confirm that no one had been witness to the display even though she knew herself to be alone.

"Well, that was… interesting."

Before she could ponder further on the unbidden action a loud pounding from the door caused her to jump and her response came as a squeak. "Yes! *cough* Yes?"

"It's Raphael." came the muted response from the other side.

It took her a moment to remember that she had sent the boy on an errand and that he had a valid reason to be knocking on the door.

"One minute." With a towel covering all the essentials, more out of habit than anything else, her pelt would have been considered modest enough to an outside observer, she undid the lock. Eliza cracked the door just enough to put her hand through the opening. She grasped the cloth pressed into her palm. "Thanks." she said loud enough to ensure she was heard before hastily starting to close the door. A green hand shot thru the gap startling her.

"Might want tha belt too."

"Oh, sorry." Eliza laughed slightly in embarrassment. She thought she heard some cranky grumbles but quickly disregarded them. "Thank you, Raphael." she said taking the belt then making sure no appendages were in the way closed the door fully. Crossing to the stalls she checked her undergarments and found they were still a bit damp, unperturbed she put them on anyway, then slipped the robe over top and belted it as tightly as possible. There was plenty of length to the garment but slightly lacking in girth, it still fit around her but the 'V' of the the chest's closure was a little lower than she would have normally be comfortable with. Steeling herself mentally she walked to the mirror and looked at her new reflection.

She'd always thought that ferrets were adorable animals, had several friends that even owned them, though she herself did not. So the clean animalistic face that stared back at her was not immediately repulsive, only the fact that it was now HER face made her shrink away. Like she had done in the shower she decided to take it a step at a time.

Her basic coloring was white with highlights of silver and grays. A band of light gray bridged her muzzle and surrounded her eyes but did not extend past them. Her ears were little half moons perched atop her head and Eliza found that she could rotate them independently, that was kinda cool. Her head was roughly triangular now with a pink nose at the end of her snout that she could wiggle. When she tested the mouth she found that it opened much wider than a human's would. Stretching it to the limit revealed mostly sharp pointed teeth with only a few flat molars in the very back, this was of course once you got past the four very obviously dangerous canines in the front. Snapping her jaw shut she marveled that they weren't immediately apparently but hidden within the cubby end of her muzzle, from which long whiskers sprouted. She tried a smile, sure enough the pointed tips showed through, the impression was a bit threatening. For a second attempt she pulled her muscles in what would have translated into a closed lipped grin and the result was acceptable even kinda cute with way her eyes were forced to squint slightly.

Given the opportunity she could stay there making faces at herself for a few good hours but was grounded enough to realized that it was time to face the world outside the bathroom once again. She now firmly understood what she looked like and grasped somewhat the gravity of her situation. Life had just thrown her one hell of a curve ball and she was not sure exactly how to handle it. Sighing heavily she surrendered to the inevitable and opened the the door and took a determined step forward.

The turtle teen was leaning on the wall to the left of the door, arms crossed across his chest, looking bored and annoyed. Mrs. VonHertz paused to wonder if this was his norm or if the night had been as stressful for her hosts as it had been for her.

"Bout' time." He huffed and pushed off from the wall, heading down the hall with no further acknowledgement of her presence.

Yeah, there was a reason she hated teenagers. Knowing that he was her assigned escort she had little choice but to follow him as he made his way across the open area that his father had dragged her across earlier. Her ears twitched and she turned to see a large door sliding open to reveal the aforementioned rat-man. He scanned the room once and headed towards them.

"Sensei, we were just heading…" The tall mutant blew right past his son and stopped a couple feet in front of Eliza.

"Thank you Raphael, but it seems that the time for casual discussion has past." He addressed his next comments at her directly. "I had hoped to make this transition easier. But, your daughter wishes to see you now. She was quite…" He paused and brought a hand up to worry his thin beard, looking up as if searching the ceiling for the correct word. "... adamant."

I knew exactly what he was talking about and decided to give my new smile a test drive. "Stubborn little whelp isn't she? That's ok, I can handle her. Where do you think she gets it from?"

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For fifteen years he had handled four rambunctious and trying turtle boys. Recently he had even taken April under both his roof and tutelage, and though their bond was currently strained, he fully expected the budding kunoichi to join them once again. Surely one little human girl could not be that difficult. Could she?

Though his approach seemed to be working well enough, the situation quickly spiraled out of his grasp. He wondered about this Xiang that she had confused him with but it was a curiosity best left till later. Splinter's attempts to appeal to reason were met with distrust and trying to calm her down only returned anger and fear. For one so small she was prone to emotional extremes, it reminded him of Raphael in many ways. He was glad that Michelangelo was there, he seemed to already have a rapport with the child and it would be the bridge through which they could establish a connection.

Unfortunately Donatello had unwittingly sunk the entire effort. Splinter had been intentionally avoiding Gwynevere's queries about her parent and redirected her focus. He had already seen the depths of Mrs. Vonhertz's dedication to her child and suspected that the bond would be of mutual intensity during such a stressful situation. He was right. As soon as her mother was acknowledged into the conversation she would not be deterred and nothing they could say or do would sway her. Still the venom with which she delivered her demand threw him off balance and sparked his own temper. He would not be spoken to in such a manner by a CHILD!

The instant he stepped into the light his anger cooled into regret. He could smell the fear that had been rolling off her become even thicker as she backed away from the tall rat-man. He wished he could retreat once again into the shadows but despite his misjudgement backpedaling now would only cause further harm. So he pressed forward and bending to look her in the eye he waited to see what she would do. Her reaction would give him a measure by which he hoped to ascertain whether or not she would be able to accept the fate that had befallen her mother. If she was going to 'freak-out', as his sons would phrase it, Splinter would rather he be the receiving end than Mrs. VonHertz.

Like she had done with Michelangelo she just observed him, didn't scream, didn't yell, didn't faint, her only action to move her arms into a self hug. Looking him in the eye, completely terrified, all she pleaded for was her mother and Splinter's heart shuttered. He thought of his own children, in the days when he was more father than sensei, and how they would come to him to soothe their fears and he would just hold and comfort them. Though she had shown such fierce determination in a difficult situation, that innocence and need for comfort that could only come from a parent, was still within this child. There was no more that they could do for her, he had no choice but to acquiesce.

Splinter straightened slowly to prevent startling her. "Very well. Stay here." With ninja grace he melted away pausing on his way out to whisper a few words to his two youngest.

"Gently, my son." He advised to Michelangelo, knowing the second he left the room the vibrant boy was likely to verbally pounce on the young girl. She was in no state to accept exuberance with which the youngest turtle would extend his friendship.

To Donatello he simply suggested a change in their tactics. "I believe a bit more light would be wise."

"Yes, Sensei."

He open the door from the lab to the common room and looked towards the kitchen where he expected Raphael and Mrs. Vonhertz to be but quickly the sound of footsteps drew his gaze in the opposite direction where he saw the pair making their way past the pit. He wasted no time in meeting them.

Splinter heard Raphael preparing an explanation that really wasn't necessary but he thanked his son anyway and made them aware of the current situation. He in no way wanted to offend the woman so he tried to choose his words carefully, knowing how how protective she was and didn't want to illicit any animosity from her. He needed her to remain calm. So when she smiled at him in a most endearing way that shifted her eyes from round to almond it was, most unexpected. Though not quite as unbelievable as the words that followed.

"Stubborn little whelp isn't she? That's ok, I can handle her. Where do you think she gets it from?" It was all he could do to keep the shock from his face when she then proceeded to close a single eye in a blatant wink.

"Are your sure?" He couldn't help but ask, the confidence she displayed seemed to be misplaced given the situation.

"Of course not."

"Excuse me?!"

"How could I possibly be sure? Look at me!" she gestured broadly to her mutated body. "But good or bad, keeping Gwyn waiting will just make it worse." The look in her eye was determined even if he could sense the undermining fear.

Sighing he approached the ferret-woman and reached behind her head, ignoring as she tried to shy away from his touch, and pulled the large hood up to shield her face. Her pink nose and whiskers protruded still but it would have to suffice. Splinter smiled and offered her his arm. "Then let us proceed, Mrs. VonHertz."

She simply nodded within her shroud and took his arm, allowing him to lead her forward. They returned to the lab with Raphael trailing behind them, though he stopped at the door when they proceeded forward.

The lab was now lit by glow from above the algae tanks and the brighter counterpoint of a desk lamp. Gwynevere was now seated in Donatello's chair with Michelangelo kneeling in front of her facing away from her. The child was running curious fingers across his youngest son's shell.

"...called a 'carapace.' It's mostly made of fused bones but covered in 'keratin' which is the same stuff your fingernails are made out of." Splinter had to smile, Donatello was standing behind her pointing out what made them unique, using his younger brother as a teaching aid. She must have asked a question about his sons unique bodies and was now on the receiving end of an informal lecture on turtle anatomy. "Keratin forms patches on the shell called "scutes," that overlap and add another layer of protection to our shells."

"He hehehe. That tickles!"

"Really?"

"Yes, though very tough, shells still contain nerve endings so we can feel thru them. Mikey just happens to be extra sensitive in some places." With a mischievous grin Donatello reached down poked a particular patch on his brother's lower left side. This of course caused the younger to twitch away from the touch in an unwilling convulsion.

"Hey! No Fair!" All three children then laughed and the sound filled Splinter with hope. Maybe he had been worrying for nothing. He coughed and three pairs of eyes turned to them and Gwyn immediately rose.

"Mama?" Splinter felt the hand laid across his forearm squeeze and patted it gently hoping to convey some comfort. The room grew heavy with a pregnant pause until finally Mrs. VonHertz brought herself to respond.

"Hello sweetheart. Are you ok?"

"My shoulder hurts." She moved away from his sons and started in their direction but Michelangelo grasped her hand and held her back.

"Gwyn, remember that goo we told you about. It's the same stuff that was in your dream, that wasn't really a dream." His son was trying to clarify the situation in his own convoluted way.

She didn't look back but tore her hand away and made her way over. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Donatello tried to explain furture, "He means that your mother doesn't look the same anymore. I'm so sorry, Gwyn, but she's been mutated."

"Mom, tell them to knock it off. You're ok right?" Mere steps away she paused and took in her mother's appearance for the first time. "Rii...ighttt?"

Splinter disengaged himself from the new mutants' side to allow them face this trial on their own. He knew there was nothing he could do to make it any easier.

"Gwyn, there's been an accident."

"No."

"I promise it will be ok. It just means some changes for…"

"NO!" Gwyn screamed and started to tremble. "Show me your face."

"You're not going to like it."

"Show me."

The older woman took a step forward and brought her hand up to try and place it comfortingly on her child's shoulder but Gwyn moved out of range looking at the appendage with loathing.

"Don't be like this."

"Be like what? Freaked out! I think I have kinda a good excuse to be! Now show me what you're hidin' so I can wake up from this nightmare and everything will be back to NORMAL!"

He saw Mrs. VonHertz take a deep breath and placed her hand on the material of the hood. "You always have to make things so difficult." she said quietly, not really addressing the child. Slowly she pulled back the hood to reveal her new form. "Gwyn, honey, I know it will take some getting used to but I pro…"

"Get some gettin' used to?"Gwynevere was once again holding herself, trying to find some sort of comfort, her mother saw this and tried to pull her into an embrace only to be violently pushed to the floor. "You don't get USEDTO THIS!" Splinter came to woman's side as the child backed away, searching the room for an escape. "This isn't real. This can't be real." She had backed into a wall and scrunched into a ball, hitting the sides of her head with her small fists in desperation while rocking her body back and forth. "Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. wakeup. wakeup. wakeupwakeupwakeup..."

I motioned my sons to assist before she did herself any real harm. Mikey wrapped his arms around her, for a moment she fought against him but quickly the need for comfort outweighed all other needs. She clung to him and started to scream violently before degrading into tears, her wails and cries filled with soul crushing grief. Donatello tried his best to soothe her by reiterating the promises he had made to April. That he would find a cure and restore her mother to her and wouldn't rest till he did. Mikey made soft cooing noises but still the sound of a child's heart breaking continued.

***play***

Above the cacophony that now filled the lab a melody began to cut thru, silencing everyone by the mere unexpectedness of it. Almost as one, everybody turned to where Mrs. VonHertz was on her knees, still overwhelmed by the vehement rejection from her child. Head tilted down and eyes closed she filled the room with a haunting melody that was somewhere between dirge and lullaby.

_Sleeping with Angels_

_Watching ov'r you in the night_

_Never fear to close thine eyes, love_

_I'll make it right_

She took a shakey breath but still pressed on as if she were pouring out her soul into the notes. Then raising her chin the woman's gaze searched for her daughter's and when the two meet they were both glassy as they locked from across the room.

_Praying till dawn comes_

_Bring with it both peace and light_

_I will help thee find thy way back_

_Nev'r cede the fight_

Splinter could feel the emotion that bled from the lyrics now and felt uncomfortable to be part of such an intimate moment. Her voice wavered and he could see that her tears flowed, slowly darkening the fur around her eyes. He then noticed that Gwynevere had gently pushed herself from Michelangelo's embrace and was walking with hesitant steps towards her mother.

_But if ye must lie down_

_Know that all once lost is found_

_In the glorious courts above, our_

_True love is bound._

The movement gave encouragement to the broken form and she straightened her posture, extending her arms in supplication to her own child. As if drawn by a trace the young girl went to her, lengthening her stride to devour the space between them. Only the briefest pause occurred when they meet, then Gwyn slipped her hands into waiting paws.

_Gwynevere_

_Do you know that he is near._

_Though the gap be far to tread, child_

_I am here._

Instantaneous silent conversations passed between them and now acceptance colored the song. Together both voices rose, blending together, sometimes slow and leading, at others in perfect pace and harmony. It was a musical journey familiar to both singers though the stage they now performed on was more strange than either could have ever imagined.

_We are not alone _

_Of the future we need not fear_

_For we know our family's eternal_

_Be of good cheer_

Gwyn was beginning to lose her strength and sank to her knees in front of her mother. Still the song continued apparently important to both of them that the melody reach its' natural conclusion. The entire experience seeped into Splinter's soul and he felt that he should disregard much of what he had supposed about the two females.

_Rise Now Triumphant_

_Greet the dawning of a new day_

_Then together moving forward_

_We'll find a way_

Before the final notes could reverberate thru the lab, mother and daughter collapsed into each other's arm and wept openly, headless of their stunned audience.

We'lllll find a wayyyyyyyy.

There was more to these two than any of them could have ever fathomed.

* * *

**A/N: Public thanks to ****BubblyShell22****, ****Linzerj****, ****SleepingSeeker**** and ****SunLux**** for their wonderful support when I had a rough chapter last week. Your support was amazing and helped me immensely. You are all AWESOME! About the song in this chapter, the tune is to Rose, Rose, Rose, Red. No offense to the source material it was just the perfect for the feeling I wished to convey. That is me and my daughter singing, it was a fun project to do together. Hope you all enjoy this chapter, I had fun with it!**


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